A Night to Lavender
by Hakken-Senshi
Summary: Happy Halloween! Join a couple of OC's for the Halloween festivities in Lavender Town. Edit: Deric and Dawson have Halloween all planned out, but someone stands in the way of their plans - the neighborhood bully, Greg. Rated K for big words.


_**Hey readers! Happy Halloween! I know that this is kinda late to be posting it, but here is my Halloween story. I hope you like it. Edit: Sorry for the short intro, outro, and description, but I posted this at like 10:30 p.m. and I was tired out from my day. I started writing this like a few weeks ago and just finished yesterday morning. I got to typing at around 3:00 p.m., but I went out to go hunting and sat out there for nearly 3 hours. When I got back, we decided to go out for dinner and I only got some of it typed before we left. I had to finish it up when we got home so that's why I am adding "Edit:"s.**_

Living in Lavender Town may not be the kind of thing anyone in Kanto would want to boast about, but I don't think it's all that bad. I mean, yeah, our town has a bit of a bad rep, we live in the center of some pretty tall stone walls, and there are only three paths to travel on when coming to/going from town, unless you fly.

Yeah, that doesn't sound too great, but there e some pros to this seemingly "all cons" town: not to many people pass through except Trainers or mourners so you don't have to worry about "suspicious characters", plenty of places to hide in Rock Cave, and it's the best place to live on the "scariest night of the year" – Halloween!

Lavender Town takes this one night to exploit its reputation as the creepiest place in Kanto. I'm talking about Halloween parties, haunted houses, and all kinds of decorations resembling the different Ghost-type Pokémon. Despite the lame way I described it, the whole ordeal is a lot more amazing, and tonight is the night! 

Deric's House 2:20p.m.

I ran to the door where t sounded like a jack hammer on reinforced steel. I opened the door to see my best friend, Dawson, arm raised mid-knock. He lowered his arm as he ran in past me and up the stairs to my room. "Hey," I called after him as I closed the door, "no peeking at my costume!"

He stopped outside my room and ran up to the railing between the top of the stairs and the wall. "That's not fair," he whined mockingly, "I showed you mine." He stared at me in false desperation as I climbed the stairs. As soon as I reached him, I aimed a punch at his shoulder and we both started laughing before walking into my room.

It wasn't much since it was kina small, but it served its purpose. My bed was wedged in the far right corner next to an old writing des (Grandpa's) and the closet after that. A television with an SNES, a birthday present from August, in the opposite corner, and behind that, a hamper nearly full of dirty clothes and an overfilled trash can. Aside from the small mess, it was neat for a nine year old's room.

"Wow," Dawson exclaimed, "you ought to've come over to my house. Maybe then we could have more time to plan for tonight."

I just laughed at my best friend and said, "Aw, great! What have you made a mess of this time?"

"Hey," Dawson replied defensively, "it's not my fault there's so much to do when it's Halloween night! I kinda left my 'schedule' idea papers everywhere, and Mom says she's gonna recycle it all if I don't get it all cleaned up and I won't be able to go out tonight."

I slumped down on my bed and Dawson settled at my desk before searching through its drawers. "So," I said watching him pilfer, "when you said everywhere, did you mean EVERYWHERE?" He turned to answer me as he finally found what he was looking for – a black notebook with my name written in white on the front cover.

"Yeah," he answered flipping through its pages upon pages of Pokémon sketches, "I mean EVERYWHERE. Hey, this one is new! Nice job!" He handed me the notebook so I could see the sketch he was referring to – an Arbok overlooking some young roughhousing Ekans. I smiled as I remembered that day when I came across the scene and sketched it up from a safe distance away.

"Hey," Dawson yelled snapping his fingers. I immediately jolted back to reality and stared at my best friend. He leaned over and towards me and asked, "How'd ya do it this time?"

I took a few seconds to process the question. I suddenly realized what he meant and answered, "Oh, yeah! I told her I was going out to play with you that day and sneaked out to Route 8. I found them a little of the path, and man, was Arceus kind. I wish I could have gotten closer without stirring them."

"Pffft! Alright, Artsy Nerd," Dawson replied jokingly as he took the notebook back and placed it back in the drawer. Closing it, He looked up at me with a question on his face.

"What?" I asked.

"You did come out to play that day!" he exclaimed.

"Shhh! Not so loud!" I hissed like one of the Ekans I had sketched.

Dawson recoiled before shaking his head as he chuckled. "You're just like Tracey, aren't you?" he said.

"Hey, I'm not quite as gentle as him," I defended blushing slightly.

"Eesh, okay, no need to get so defensive!" Suddenly Dawson's watch started beeping. "Augh! I gotta go. Please!" he begged. After staring at my friend literally on his knees for a few seconds, I sighed in defeat before grabbing my jacket off the bedpost beside me and heading downstairs. Dawson jumped up victorious before slamming my door and running after me.

Dawson's House 4:45 p.m.

I slumped downstairs and threw myself onto the living room sofa. I lay on the large cushions quietly for a few seconds before feeling a tremor which indicated I had been accompanied by Dawson. I looked over at him and asked, "Why did I agree to help you?"

He opened his eyes and smiled at me. "Cuz you're my friend and friends help each other out of jams."

I sat up and opened my eyes. "So is that supposed to work both ways? Because I'm supposed to be cleaning up the basement tomorrow and – "

Dawson shot up prepared to protest before he remembered I don't have a basement. My muffled giggling confirmed his suspicion that I was joshing him. "Jerk," he mumbled as he punched me in the shoulder which just made me giggle even more.

We went up to his room and brought some comics to the living room to reread them for the umpteenth time. After that we brought the comics back upstairs and played on Dawson's SNES until suppertime. Dawson's mom told me that my mother had called and it was okay for me to stay for supper if she was fine with it which she was. After a supper of ramen noodles and vegetables, I looked at my watch which read 6:58 p.m. and said good-byes before heading home to prepare for the evening of fright and fun ahead.

Lavender Town Square 7:45 p.m.

I ran through the alleys so I wouldn't be seen in my costume. I wanted Dawson to be the first to see it first. Soon I made it to the Town Square which thankfully wasn't too heavily populated yet as it wasn't very late. I hid amongst the shadows searching around until found Dawson who was in a Charizard costume. Yeah, I know a Pokémon costume seems kinda ridiculous, but our costumes weren't your ordinary "plastic-mask-and-cloth-leotard-over-your-normal-clothes" costumes, they looked authentic!

I sneaked over by where he was, came up behind him, and tapped his shoulder as I whispered "Boo" into his ear. He jumped so high, I actually thought his wings were carrying him away! He finally returned to the ground when gravity retook effect on his rear end. Standing up and rubbing his hind, he turned to glare at me before stopping to stare in awe at my costume.

From the red-tipped black tentacle-like wings to the yellow tail spikes, I greatly resembled a miniature Giratina. Like Dawson, some of the other kids in the Square had noticed my magnificent costume and was held awestruck. After what seemed like an eternity, the others lost interest and Dawson snapped out of his trance.

"Whoa! That looks amazing! I can see why you wanted to keep it a secret! Is that from the pictures Tracey sent you?" Dawson blurted out of excitement.

I nodded. "Yeah, this one is from the SinnohDex. It's called Giratina and – Oh no," I groaned. In the midst of the growing crowd, an all o familiar face appeared: Greg Chino, the neighborhood bully and the bane of our existence. I turned to grab Duncan and book it, but Greg spotted us first. "Run!" I yelled to my best friend who was all too ready to oblige having noticed our enemy's advance.

We ran through the crowd desperate to be rid of our pursuer. We finally made it to what we assumed was a safe distance away. After catching our breath, we headed to our first planned event – a Halloween party a few streets away. We got there at about 8:10 p.m. and hung out for about half an hour before heading back to the Town Square for gams and contests.

Lavender Town Square 10:05 p.m.

"And the winner is . . . Deric, for his outstanding Giratina!" the announcer exclaimed. The square resounded with the sound of the applause of the contest's spectators. I walked up as humbly as I could to receive my reward. It was a silver trophy with a Smeargle on top and a plague on the bottom which read: "Best Costume Design." I turned to the onlookers and raised the trophy over my head which earned me another round of applause. I walked down off the stage and over to a stand where Dawson was playing a ring toss game. While I had my artistic skill, Dawson had his physical finesse. He tossed his three rings like they were shuriken and each found their mark, or dowel, rather. He received a prize – a medallion for his multiple successful games and a plush Clefairy which was his favorite Pokémon.

I rushed up to him and high-fived while his "fans" cheered for his victory. He turned and bowed in false arrogance. "Thank you. Thank you. You were all a great crowd!" Dawson called before breaking don in a laughing fit.

I punched him and said, "You goofus! Way to go!"

"Yeah, ya goofus! Way ta go!" We both froze. Before we could react, we felt arms close around us and we were dragged into the nearby alley. We tried to struggle and our attempts were met strong resistance. Suddenly, our captors stopped and turned us toward their leader, Greg.

He was a good bit taller than us since he was eleven and he was a lot meaner. He wore what looked like a homemade ninja outfit which was fitting since he was the nephew of the Fuchsia City Gym Leader, Koga. He even had a Crobat plush on his shoulder to add to his display of "family pride." He ran up to us and stopped abruptly staring us right in the eye before straightening up. "Well, well, thought you'd lost us?" he asked mockingly.

"What is it you want this time? I thought we had a deal!" I shouted only to have a hand pulled over my mouth.

"Well, ya see, that's all changed. You ran away from me before I could get near enough to explain anything and now – hey! What the –! Get off!" Greg started shouting and waving his hands in the air in what seemed like a bout of madness. I t soon became clear when Greg's assailant revealed itself to be a mischievous Gastly out for an evening of fright. It quickly flew off in the direction of Pokémon Tower leaving Greg a disheveled mess on the ground.

Greg pulled himself into a standing and yelled after the spirit in a fit of anger. He suddenly turned his eyes on us as he began to form an evil plan to get revenge on the pestering creature. "C'mon," he said his voice shaking with such anger that even his "friends" were frightened, "we've got some ground to cover."

Pokémon Tower 11:00 p.m.

Greg stopped to admire the massive building for which Lavender town was famous for – the world's largest cemetery. It loomed over us like an oversized tombstone, illuminated from behind by the moonlight. So great was its frightening influence that I thought I would actually perish from it.

"That Gastly is gonna pay!" Greg yelled turning to face us. "So," he continued, "which of you 'Minimons' is going to fetch it for me?" His mouth was hidden by his scarf, but Dawson and I knew he was smiling evilly.

Before I could do anything, Dawson yelled and pointed over at me. "Him! Make him do it! Let me go!" he added, desperate to be gone from the presence of this den of nightmares. His struggling was swiftly subdued by his captor's tightening grip.

"Well, well, well. Looks like we have our volunteer," Greg said slowly as he motioned for Dawson to be released. I watched in horror as he grabbed Dawson and started dragging him over to the doors. I began thinking of ways to get out of this situation, but there was only one way. I sighed because I really didn't want to do this, but I didn't want anything to happen to Dawson.

"Wait," I said loud enough for Greg to hear. He stopped dead and turned to face me, Dawson stared confusedly because his fate had been postponed. I sighed once ore because I _really_ didn't want to do this. "I'll go. Don't force him, I'll do whatever you want in there. Just let him go."

Greg sat dumbfounded for a second and then started laughing. When he stopped, he looked at me with a twinkle in his eye. "All right hero, as you wish." He turned to his "friends" and said, "Change of plans, Hero is gonna stick around here with me for a bit, and you two take Chariwimp back to the Square. I'll catch up in a few." He waved them off as I was released and Dawson was led back toward the sounds of cheering and laughter. We exchanged worried glances in passing and then I smiled and nodded to him. After the other three were out of sight, it was just me and Greg. Great, just what I wanted on Halloween night!

I knew it was best to just get it over with so I walked towards the doors only to have Greg call me back halfway.

"Uh, uh, uh. You don't just charge into battle without orders do you?" He asked. "Here." He handed me a marble-like object which I recognized by the blue and white halves with the two lines of red on top to be a collapsed Great Ball. I looked up at Greg in confusion and amazement. "It's simple. Go in, find and capture it, get out. Don't waste your only shot, and make sure it's actually him. Good luck, hero!" he shouted as he ran off in the same direction as the others.

I stood there staring after him incredulously. What did I just sign up for? I swallowed my fear and charged t the doors and flung them open so I would have no chance to hesitate. Immediately after crossing the threshold, I was surrounded by darkness as the doors slammed shut. As my eyes adjusted I saw I was in a huge lobby with some couches, coffee tables and a front desk. Not exactly what you would expect to see at the ground floor of the world's largest cemetery. I noticed the stairs and charged up them to the higher floors. I wanted to get out ASAP!

Pokémon Tower, 2nd floor from the top 11:45 p.m.

I was ready to collapse. I had already searched all of the lower floors and even the one I am currently on. I wonder where all of the ghosts have gone? So far I had had nothing but the tombstones to accompany me.

Suddenly, I began to hear the sounds of laughter and conversation from the floor above me. With all memory of my former fatigue forgotten, I raced up the next flight of stairs with a renewed vigor. Upon reaching the top, I was immediately met with a great unearthly light and the same sounds of conversation, but now louder. As I came closer I realized what was going on. All of the Ghost-types were gathered to listen to the mischievous accounts of one Gastly – the very one which I had been sent to capture. I cleared my throat and immediately gained the attention of every specter in the vicinity, especially of the Gastly who floated over close to me.

"You, Gastly, I need you." I managed to say when I remembered how to.

 _[Oh, and what for?]_ It responded. I froze. Did that ghost really just speak to me?

"I was sent to capture you by –"

 _[Let me guess, the bully]_ It finished boredly.

"Yes," I nodded.

 _[Tell me, why exactly I should come with you.]_ It said raising an eyebrow.

"I have no reason," I answered, "It is not something that concerns you, but I need to stand up to Greg, and I need help. I can release you as soon as I am done, I promise."

 _[How can I know you won't just turn on me once I am yours?]_

"I promise on my grave and on the name of Arceus!" I shouted unwilling to take no for an answer nor be delayed any longer from leaving.

The crowd of spirits gasped at my rashness, but I didn't care. I stared defiantly at the Gastly until it began to laugh and finally conceded _. [Alright, boy. You may have me. First, if I am to be your prisoner, I shall choose my prison.]_ Suddenly the Great Ball in my hand glowed a bright purple and then stopped. It was now a pale purple and gray with two red eye-like slits on top on either side of gleaming silver "G". _[Behold! A Gastly Ball! Now get on with it!]_

I tossed the Ball at him and it expanded and opened to suck him in as red energy. The Ball landed on the floor with a faint click and after the light blinked three times, it sat motionless and gave a soft "ding." I picked it up and ran down the stairs as fast as my legs would carry me.

Lavender Town Square 12:35 a.m.

Greg sat impatiently at the fountain in the middle of the Square. He was waiting for that bratty Sketchit kid to come running this way, broken and crying for his mother. He looked over to his "friends" wrapped in their costume cloaks and keeping an eye on the Sketchit kid's friend who was worried out of his mind about him. Suddenly, He noticed someone coming from the alley to his right. As the person got closer, he realized it was Sketchit and he was waving something over his head. The Great Ball?

"Hey Greg! I got 'em!" I shouted as I rushed over. I was upon him and the others in no time and I shoved the Great Ball in his face. He tried to back up to get a better look, but something caught him underfoot and caused him to fall backwards. He tried to make sense of it when he looked up and came face to face with a real Giratina. He immediately scrambled to his feet and ran off with his "friends" in tow.

Dawson stood incredulous and walked over to it. He reached out to touch the mighty Ghost/Dragon-type, but as he was about to make contact, it vanished leaving me in its wake.

Dawson gasped and recoiled causing me to giggle uncontrollably. "Dude, what just happened? Where'd the Giratina go? I thought it was going to Dragonbreath us for sure, and why are you laughing?" Dawson asked in a frustrated tone.

I managed to stifle my giggles enough to wave to the Gastly who appeared presently. "First, Dawson, meet Spectran."

 ** _Hope you enjoyed that. Please favorite, follow, and review. Until next time! Edit: If you want me to write more about these characters, let me know!_**


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